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@awsamuel@cosocial.caHow do we survive hard times, when we're all in pain together?
I've been thinking about that a lot this week—a week that in so many ways has felt like the earliest and most terrifying days of Covid lockdown.
Being sad together is both harder and more comforting than being sad separately. When you're going through a painful personal experience like a bereavement, a breakup or an illness, there are usually people you can lean on. And yet it can be very lonely to be alone in the sadness. /cont
In the early days of Covid, and right now, so many people are sad that you can feel it in the air. Instead of getting a lift from being with other people or connecting online, the sad energy can ricochet and intensify, and you can't count on anyone giving you the boost to tide you over.
Saying that many people are sad and scared—in my universe, it feels like everybody, which is maybe a symptom of how polarized our world has become—isn't to say that we're all in the same boat. /more
As scared and sad as most of us were in early Covid, some people got to retreat to home offices, and other people had to report for in-person work with all its attendant risks. As scared and sad as many of us are right now, some people are literally waiting for the knock at the door, and others of us are safely (for now) on the other side of a border.
Without ignoring these differences, our shared sadness and fear can be a source of validation and community. /one more!
There are lots of hurting, scared folks out there, and gosh, it's a relief to know that so many people recognize the danger of this moment. We can take solace in our numbers, and gather strength.
To quote one of my favorite musicals (Falsettos): "Let's be scared together."
The next line is, "Let's pretend that nothing is awful."
No, let's not pretend.
@awsamuel@cosocial.ca you know, this ... is really an apt way of describing it. the earliest days of covid. how we're all being confronted with the failures of our systems and the apathy of those around us.